


Rough and Burning

by hitogawari (AbsolutelyAtrocious)



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Other, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, and uh theres reinhardt saias soren and i think....fjorm?, assuming i ever finish this, but again theyre not gonna be major probably, hopefully, priscilla and some others are there but they dont do a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 09:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15410010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsolutelyAtrocious/pseuds/hitogawari
Summary: You capture another general from Múspell. He could be a valuable source of information, if you can manage to get him to give it to you.





	Rough and Burning

**Author's Note:**

> am i done with the Alfonse fic? no. am i working on it? yes. am i going to finish it? absolutely.
> 
> is this fic anything more than my continual need to make Helbindi Content™ in a void of it? absolutely not and the only reason this isn't nsfw is because i'm scared to write nasty things
> 
> okay  
> have a good time. this is unbeta'd so any errors are 1,000% mine

You had found him after the battle. He tried to crawl away, bleeding from so many wounds, but only got a few yards before slumping to the ground. Fjorm had protested the loudest, with a rasp in her throat, but you had insisted. You weren’t leaving him here. Helbindi could be a valuable source of information, even if you couldn’t use him as leverage, you argued.

“But we don’t have what it takes to feed another mouth!” Anna leaned heavily on Nóatún. She had taken a lot of damage as well, charging in to take out the dagger users and trusting the rest of the party to take down physical attackers. Poison had seeped into a cut along her side, as well as stab wounds from a lancer who had rushed into the fray. You were low on vulneraries, and resources were hard to find in Múspell, so it would take a while until all of you had healed. And with another injured person, movement would be slow.

“And? He knows this area,” you said, pointing to the huge man bleeding at your feet. “Not only could he be a valuable source of tactical info, but he probably knows what’s edible and where to find it. We might be running low on consumables now, but he could tell us what we can use here.”

“‘Could.’ If he’s willing to help us. That’s one hell of an 'if,’” Anna snapped.

“Please,” you begged. Anna glared a bit longer, then looked away.

“I’m trusting your judgement as our Summoner and tactitican. Don’t make me regret it.” She turned briefly to the small pack of Heroes you had under your control. “I’ll leave it to you to make arrangements for him. We’re going to keep heading towards the gorge, and we’re not slowing down for an injured man.” She left you to deal with your new captive. You sighed. Maybe it was relief.

“So.” You asked the Heroes. “Anybody willing to let him ride with you?”

~·°·¤·°·~

Night fell. You had set up camp on the side of a mountain. If foes attacked in the morning, they would have to climb up to get at you and risk being shot by archers, or come from above and take a similar fall. Some heroes slept. Some talked. The tacticians had been called into a meeting by Anna to discuss your next move through the unfamiliar terrain.

Hríd pointed to a map. “If we pass through here, continuing along the mountains, we can avoid civilians that might give away our position,” he said.

“But those mountains are volcanoes,” Soren pointed out. “It’s going to get far too hot, not to mention the danger of lava or rocks raining down on us.” You saw Fjorm shudder out of the corner of your eye.

Alfonse raised his hand. “Maybe following the river to the east would be better. There’s a bit of foliage there, so cover would be more accessible and we might be able to do a bit of hunting.”

“That would slow our calvalry units to a crawl,” Reinhardt said. “They would find us in no time.”

“How about we ask Helbindi?” All eyes went to you.

“Is he awake?” Anna asked.

“No, but I can try to rouse him.”

“Good. Because I was going to get pissed if he was and you hadn’t told me. Go see if you can get anything out of him.” Anna dismissed you with a hand gesture. You left, the tent flap muffling the sound of discussion from within.

In the medical area, Lucius, Sakura, and Nanna had been working overtime to aid the wounded. You had to weave through a sea of bodies, searching out the one you were looking for. Then again, there weren’t many with Helbindi’s darker complexion. He lay on a cot, legs and arms bound together, with Priscilla standing guard over him. When she saw you, she smoothed her skirt and stood.

“He’s been out the whole time we marched,” she said. “I think I saw him stir once or twice, though. I left some of his wounds unhealed. He won’t be running off easily.”

“Thank you, Priscilla. Do you…” You fiddled with the edges of your sleeves, worn and dirty from time out in the open. “Do you think it would be safe to wake him?”

Priscilla frowned. “It would be safe for him. He’s not in critical condition. I’m not sure if it would be okay for you, Summoner.”

You smiled. “I’ll be fine. Besides, he’s tied up and wounded. How bad can it be?”

With Priscilla holding her stave, poised to put him back down if necessary, you gently shook Helbindi’s shoulder. Or, more accurately, you tried. He was really hard to move. You not-so-gently shook his shoulder a second time.

“Urgh…” He stirred a bit, rolling over and off his cot and directly onto your foot.

“Ow!”

“Gah!”

Your cry seemed to snap Helbindi awake. He made as if to stand, but his injuries and bonds prevented him. After a few moments of panic, he stilled and glared at you and Priscilla.

“What the hell are you shitheads doin’…?” His head was held low, narrowed red eyes cast in shadow. He huffed for breath. The unhealed wounds on his body made it difficult for him to move, and the scramble he had attempted had taken its toll. “Don’t tell me…my dumb ass managed to get captured…”

You knelt down to his level. “Yes. You are currently being held by the Order of Heroes from Askr. I am the su–”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re the Summoner for the Order, and you use Heroes and shit, blah blah blah.” His head moved from side to side with his words. “Just kill me already and spare me the trouble of torture.”

“We’re not going to torture or kill you. Unless we need to. I actually came here to ask you some questions.” You rearranged yourself to sit in the dirt at the end of his cot.

“Like I give a damn about answering 'em.”

“If you comply, we’ll heal you and feed you.”

“If I comply, I’m going to get killed by the king and his lot. And if I don’t, you guys kill me first. It’s just a choice of how long I’ve got.”

“The king won’t do anything to you, because if you help us, we’ll defeat him.”

“Yeah, sure. Just like you did last time, eh?”

Your hands balled into fists. “This time will be different! We know how to stop the flames!”

He laughed aloud, face split by a sardonic grin. “Well, damn, why didn’t you say so? Now I’ll just tell you everything because you and your washed-up band of otherworldy misfits are gonna stop our immortal demon of a king!”

You frowned. This was going to be hard. Maybe not Laegjarn level hard, but not easy. “I’ll let you sleep on your wounds. Then we can see whether you’ll give us info.” You rose from the ground and immediately tripped, catching yourself inches from the baked earth. Helbindi snickered.

“I’ll tell you this, Summoner.” he said. “I don’t have any personal loyalties to that heap of filth called a country. I’m not in this for me. I’m in it…for someone else.”

You rose to your feet. “Does that have anything to do with you tripping me?”

“Nah. Just wanted to show a little defiance.”

You rolled your eyes. “Goodbye, Priscilla. Keep an eye on him.”

“Yes, Summoner.” She gave a sharp nod and looked from her staff to Helbindi before casting a spell. You heard him yell, but didn’t look back on your way to the strategy meeting.

…

“So he’s awake, but not willing to talk.” Anna seemed a bit displeased. “That’s how it always goes, isn’t it?”

You shrugged. “If we give him some time, then maybe–”

“We don’t  _have_ time,” cried Fjorm. “We need to know this information as soon as possible. What’s left of my country is at stake here!”

Sharena placed a hand on her arm. “Fjorm, we know how you feel. Askr’s at risk as well. But yelling at the Summoner isn’t going to make things better.” Fjorm deflated.

“If you’re so optimistic, why don’t you talk to him,” she muttered.

“That’s actually a really good idea. I’ll go do that. Commander Anna–”

“Permission granted, Sharena. Go on.” Sharena offered her hand to Fjorm, who shook her head. She hugged her before taking her leave.

“I’m…going to bed.” Fjorm, too, left the tent. Now you, Hríd, and Alfonse stared at Anna. She sighed.

“You’re all dismissed. Rest up. Tommorow, we’re going to head along the magma line going southeast. Scouts picked up some unfamiliar magic signatures from other worlds, which means the enemy summoned more Heroes.” While you and the princes left, you could see her writing furiously on a piece of parchment.

“Summoner? A word, if I may.” Hríd pulled you aside. Alfonse looked like he was going to say something, but then left.

“Yes, Hríd?”

“Thank you for helping to save my life.” He dropped to one knee. “Anything I can do to repay the debt once I am able…simply ask and I will perform any task gladly.”

You held back a smile. Maybe it was just him and Fjorm, but the Niflish royals seemed to have a flair for dramatics. “No need for that, Prince Hríd. I’m kind of a commoner where I’m from, so I’m not gonna ask you to bow for me or anything.” You put your hand down for him to take, and he rose. “Whatever you say, Summoner,” he replied. His gaze remained low, not meeting your eyes.

“Good night, Prince.” You headed towards your tent. Alfonse was nowhere to be seen. You might be able to talk to him in the morning, but the day had worn you out.

Opening the flap to your temporary dwelling, you wasted no time flopping down onto the cot. The cloak you wore came off, but you couldn’t be bothered to finish undressing this late. Soon enough, the darkness of sleep overtook your mind and ate up the thoughts that troubled you.


End file.
